Boy Inhales Blowgun Dart

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A 15-year-old boy in Ohio required a visit to the emergency room
after he inhaled a dart from a homemade blowgun, according to a
new report of his case.

The dart lodged in the boy's airway after he inhaled deeply while
holding the blowgun in his mouth. Blowguns are designed to allow
darts to be propelled outward by the force of an exhaled breath.
The gun mostly consists of a narrow tube.

When he arrived at the
emergency room, the boy had already been coughing for three
hours. Although the boy said he had just been playing with his
siblings — with no mention of the blowgun — X-rays of his airway
revealed the dart. After further questioning, the boy admitted to
using the blowgun.

The case highlights the potential dangers of blowguns for teens,
especially when the blowguns are made by using instructions on
the Internet, which the boy had done. Most websites that provide
instructions regarding how to make blowguns do not adequately
warn about the guns' risks, the researchers said. [See
9 Weird Ways Kids Can Get Hurt ].

When a child inhales deeply (to produce a forceful breath to
propel the dart forward), their vocal chords open fully, which
makes it easier for objects to enter their airway, Jatana said.

The boy underwent a nonsurgical procedure in which a tube
is inserted down the throat to view objects in the airway, and
the dart was removed. Despite inhaling a sharp object, the boy
was not harmed by the ordeal, according to the case report.

Over the next three months, the doctors saw two more cases of
teen boys (ages 14 and 15) who inhaled darts from homemade
blowguns. In both cases, the darts were removed without
complications.

But the three boys were all very fortunate not to have any
serious complications, Jatana told LiveScience. Anytime an object
is inhaled and trapped in the airway, it can be a
life-threatening problem, he said. A dart could puncture a hole
in the airway or lungs, or injure the
voice box.

Because of their risks, blowguns should probably not be used by
children or teens, Jatana said.

With the Internet providing easy access to blowgun instructions,
such cases may become more common in the future, the researchers
said.

As shown in this case, teens do not always tell the truth, which
can complicate receiving a correct diagnosis. If a teen boy comes
to the emergency room with vague respiratory
symptoms, doctors should be suspicious that he may have
inhaled something, the doctors wrote in their report. Symptoms of
aspiration include difficulty breathing, coughing, wheezing and
spitting up or coughing blood.

The report is published in the July 22 issue of the journal
Pediatrics.